


Clarity

by confused_pandbear



Category: Free!
Genre: Angst, F/M, Sibling Incest, rin x gou, ringou - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-02
Updated: 2019-03-02
Packaged: 2019-11-08 06:58:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,440
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17976551
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/confused_pandbear/pseuds/confused_pandbear
Summary: Writing Prompt: Rin and Gou were actually lovers in their past lives, but the goddess of beauty became jealous of Gou so she cursed them to be siblings in their future lives. Thus, every single time they are reborn, they are tormented by their feelings for each other.





	Clarity

When Matsuoka Rin walked into a room, he brought his atmosphere with him, the kind that demanded respect wherever he went.

Entering the private bathhouse, he was greeted by a flurry maidservants that filed into attention, fussing over his very existence.

Some bowed to the floor, waiting obediently for his instruction and others moved to help him with his clothes – but he ignored them, training his gaze towards the girl that stood by the doorway, holding herself up as proudly his equal.

“The sun set hours ago. I ordered that you be sent to bed when it did,” he addressed her indignantly, narrowed eyes flickering towards her personal maid standing next to her.

The thin girl flinched ever so slightly under his piercing glare.

She opened her mouth to apologize, but Gou spoke up before the words had even formed.

“I wanted to assist you with your bath,” she spoke with unneeded formality. “I did not expect that you would be home so _late_ …”

Her voice stressed the last syllable with the slightest detectable annoyance, and the corners of his lips twitched rebelliously.

Rin lifted an assertive hand towards the lines of servants, not even bothering to look at them.

“Leave us,” he commanded, and they immediately dispersed like flies, emptying the room within seconds.

He waited for the sound of the doors sliding shut and the footsteps slowly fading, until there was nothing but the sound of the trickling spring of glassy water from the bathtub, which lay in the middle of the room.

It was only then, when they were finally alone, that they could relax.

Rin yawned loudly and pushed the girl aside to undress.

Gou pouted, following after him without hesitation.

“You were gone a long time,” she nagged.

He rubbed the back of his neck in a stressed manner. “Does a man my age still have curfews?”

“Yes, when he is to be married at sunrise the next day!”

She helped him with his robe, hanging it on a hook by the door hurriedly. In the same hasty fashion, she went to burn the incense and set the lamps on the floor by the tub.

In stark contrast, Rin moved at a leisurely pace, removing his hakama and the rest of his clothing, and slinging them messily over the back of random chair.

Gou trained her pupils straight ahead.

She forced herself to concentrate on her own duties – and not the way her insides stirred when her peripheral vision caught the rippling definition in Rin’s legs as he lowered himself into the water.

Silently, she made her way to the tub and knelt directly behind him, unsure if she were disappointed or relieved that water was clouded with enough oils that it covered him to decency.

Dipping a washcloth into the water, she wrung it in her hands and let the droplets slide down his shoulders and back.

“Where did you go tonight?” she asked.

“I paid a visit to the Mikoshiba household,” Rin replied heedlessly.

Gou raised an impudent chin. “I suppose Isuzu-san’s parents were not aware of your late night visit?”

Rin’s hearty laughter was enough of an answer for her.

“I suppose you could call it my final conquest before I become a married man!” he said with a slight smirk and her stomach dropped to her toes.

Gou should have guessed, because his clothes had smelt a little different today, a scent of spring flowers mixed with something ripe.

It was difficult to keep the bitterness out of her voice after that.

“Perhaps this marriage is for the best,” she changed the subject tactfully. “Father is relieved to have you finally settle down. It was all he could talk about during supper…”

It was well known that General Matsuoka’s eldest son had somewhat of a reputation with the women in their district – something that often inconvenienced their family, who would have to deal with the girl’s and their angry fathers.

Rin scoffed at that.

He wondered what his father would then think, if he knew that it all had been a front, a painful facade to hide a secret that was far, far more shameful.

When Rin didn’t bother answering her, like he did with most things that uninterested him, Gou took charge of the flow of conversation.

“I hear the bride very beautiful,” she continued in a small, fragile voice.

Rin leant his head against her shoulder to look at her, hands brushing the hair away from her eyes.

“I hear she’s nothing compared to the grooms younger sister.”

Gou ducked her head away from intensity of his gaze and the searing sensation that came with his calloused palm against her cheek.

Rin snatched his hand back, fearing that he had spoken out of line once again.

Silence plagued between them for several minutes.

“And what is the truth to you?” Gou finally asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.

Her voice was threaded with teasing undertones that masked her palpable interest.

Rin smirked, not even bothering to lie, because to lie would be so far from the truth.

“The latter, of course.”

The edges of Gou’s mouth curved demurely upwards.

She felt that wretched heat creep up her neck and spread to the rest of her body, filling her to the brim with a slowly burning ache.

“It is getting quite warm in here, don’t you think?”

Rin answered lazily: “Is it?”

Without providing an answer, Gou’s hands left him briefly to undo her robe, letting it fall to the floor with a sigh of silk.

Assuming her errands as if nothing were out of the ordinary, she leant forwards to rub the cloth over the taut planes of his chest, her unbound breasts brushing against his naked back.

Rin would have given ten years of his life to hold her in his arms right then.

“Gou, what…?” he tried to sound manly and assertive, but was betrayed by the slight crack in his voice.

The girl hummed musically as if he hadn’t spoken, continuing to wash him in an innocuous manner.

She cupped water in her hands and pouring it over his tense arms.

Rin closed his eyes to steel himself, but only accomplishing enhancing his senses to her gentle touch.

He wondered if she could feel how fast his blood was rushing beneath his skin – the blood that also ran beneath hers.

“I’ll miss you,” she said, stunning him back into reality, so suddenly that Rin could only dumbly reply:

“But I’m not going anywhere?”

Her heart swelled to a painful size inside her chest, regardless of his words.

“I know…”

Gou lowered her head onto his shoulder, and murmured into the dampness of his skin.

“…But it won’t be the same after tomorrow.”

And Rin had no answer for her – none that would ease her suffering, at least.

Instead he leant his temple against hers and took in everything he could about her – unsure but desperate for a way to weave parts of her soul with his, so that he could keep her locked up inside of him forever.

“Onii-chan,” Gou then whispered, so quietly as if she did not want even the gods to hear her speak. “Can you promise me something?”

Rin smiled, sadly. “Anything.”

“When we are reborn into another life,” her voice was wavering with the wake of her tears, “when we are no longer siblings. Promise that you’ll marry me instead.”

His answer died in his throat the moment their eyes met.

The water stirred when he turned to face her properly, startling her.

She quickly to moved her arms to cover herself, but he caught them before they could, forcibly lowering them to her sides.

Then, unashamedly, he looked at her – not as her brother, but as a man – a man who loved and desired her with every inch of his being.

She was trembling as he held her face in his hands and it was like grasping his entire world between them.

Resting his forehead against hers, the tears that had gathered in her corners of her eyes fell and pooled at the crease of his palms.

They were a silent plea to no one in particular – maybe to him, or maybe to some divine entity she believed had the power to end their misery.

Because there was no way he could promise her that, no matter how much he wanted to, and she knew that well.

But like all things she had asked of him previously, Rin gave to her without question – as he closed the gap between their lips and sealed his promise with a kiss.


End file.
